Generation Study Abroad is a new five-year initiative launched by the Institute of International Education
in March 2014 to double the number of U.S. college students studying abroad by the end of the decade.
Generation
Study Abroad
™
IIE | Opening Minds to the World®
L
eading up to IIE’s centennial celebration in 2019,
Generation Study Abroad will reach out to educators at all
levels and stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Our
aim is to encourage meaningful, innovative action to drive up
the number of U.S. students who have the opportunity to gain
international experience through academic study abroad programs, as well as internships, service learning and non-credit
educational experiences. IIE has committed $2 million to this
initiative over the next five years, and has established a Study
Abroad Fund to provide scholarships to college and high
school students and grants to institutions.
Join Generation Study Abroad
In addition to the overall goal of achieving an annual study
abroad total of 600,000 students by the end of the decade,
Generation Study Abroad has set specific targets for building
a coalition.
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We seek commitments from:
500 institutions who pledge to significantly expand
study abroad
10 institutions who require study abroad
10,000 alumni and students who join the initiative
and promote study abroad
1,000 high school teachers who pledge to make
their students aware of study abroad
Donors and sponsors who contribute support for
study abroad scholarships
The Challenge
According to Open Doors 2013, published by IIE in partnership
with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs, 295,000 American college students studied
abroad in 2011/12 for credit and in non-credit programs. This represents only about 10% of the 2.6 million students who graduated
with associates or baccalaureate degrees. In today’s increasingly
global workplace, the number is far too low.
Generation Study Abroad seeks to address this shortfall by bringing employers, governments, associations, and others together to
build on current best practices and find new ways to extend study
abroad opportunities to hundreds of thousands of college students
who are not currently taking part in study abroad. International
experience is now one of the most important components of a 21st
century resume. Our goal is to change the paradigm so that study
abroad is considered an essential part of a college education.
Working Together Toward a Solution
Study abroad has always been central to IIE’s mission and work,
from our early days of helping to create the very first junior year
abroad programs. We publish the IIEPassport directories of study
abroad programs and funding opportunities, and partner with
sponsors and donors on programs that help more than 5,000
students each year to have an educational experience overseas.
Building on nearly 100 years of commitment to study abroad, IIE
will lead the Generation Study Abroad coalition in raising awareness of the need for students to gain language and cultural skills,
identifying and breaking down barriers hindering students from
studying abroad, sharing strategies and best practices to increase
study abroad, and mobilizing additional financial resources. In
addition to significantly expanding study abroad, the campaign
will encourage and track campus activities that expand diversity
in race and ethnicity, academic disciplines, and gender.
Find out more at www.generationstudyabroad.org
Addis Ababa | Bangkok | Beijing | Budapest | Cairo | Chicago | Dili
Denver | Hanoi | Hong Kong | Houston | Jakarta | Kyiv | Mexico City
Moscow | New Delhi | New York | San Francisco | Washington
www.iie.org